The Dalles 0fficers injured in arrest

Two officers from The Dalles Police Department were attacked by a suspect early Wednesday morning and both suffered minor injuries.

Capt. Ed Goodman said Officers Chuck Parsons and Koji Nagamatsu were treated for abrasions and contusions at Mid-Columbia Medical Center but are back on duty.

He said the officers were looking for another individual in the 1100 block of Lewis Street when they came across Tyler James Burres, 21, who was wanted on a warrant for probation violations.

Burres allegedly head-butted one officer and then hit him in the jaw during the struggle to take him into custody. The other officer reportedly ended up falling over a concrete curb and tearing his pant leg in the skirmish.

“The suspect was exhibiting physical symptoms that led the officers to believe that he was under the influence of drugs at the time of their encounter,” said Goodman.

The officers finally succeeded in handcuffing Burres and transporting him to the regional jail. He has been lodged on charges of methamphetamine possession, probation violation, resisting arrest and assaulting peace officers.

“They both got banged up in a scuffle and are on their way to MCMC but should be okay,” read the text message sent to Goodman by the sergeant on duty shortly after 1 a.m. March 12.

“I can’t tell you how many of those messages that I have gotten over the years – it’s tough stuff,” he told a group of firefighters and law enforcement officials gathered at the annual Emergency Responder Appreciation Dinner hosted by VFW Post 2471 Auxiliary.

Goodman said, on the way to the hospital, he reflected on all of the other trips made during his career that highlighted the danger of an emergency responder’s job.

“We are the people who run toward danger not away from it,” he said. “If it wasn’t for these guys that never give up and are out chasing bad guys every night, it would be a different town. People don’t call 911 because things are going really well for them – it is a last resort.”

He said the past year has been especially tough because Police Detective Jamie Carrico and Oregon State Police Trooper Matt Zistel were both shot in the line of duty.

Carrico, a 17-year veteran with the force, was shot Oct. 16 in Wishram, Wash., after returning fire during the foot pursuit of a suspect in a rape case involving a minor.

Zistel, who has been with The Dalles branch of OSP for five years, was wounded Aug. 29 after the driver of a vehicle he stopped near Biggs Junction opened fire.

Both suspects were killed by the officers and authorities determined their shootings in self-defense were justified.